Minnesota Indian Estate Planning Project

The Minnesota Indian Estate Planning Project is a three-year project to provide free community education and estate planning services for tribal members of four Minnesota Indian nations:

Bois Forte Band of Chippewa
Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe

The Project addresses the loss of economic control Indian people experience as a result of a land ownership system created by the General Allotment Act and, in Minnesota, the Nelson Act of 1889, and federal laws regarding inheritance of Indian land title. In particular, the Project will address problems related to fractionated ownership of Indian land tittle, also known as "fractionation" which, over several generations, results in a dramatic increase in the number of ownership interests in allotments of Indian land.

To implement the Minnesota Indian Estate Planning Project, ILTF has contracted with the law firm of Swanson, Drobnick and Tousey, P.C. If you are a tribal member of one of the participating bands and would like some addtional information, please contact the law firm at 651-739-9615.

Contribute to this project

Funding for the three-year project comes from the Administration for Native Americans (ANA), a program of the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other sources.